Should I buy tanks???

[lme901]

Hi All -

I've been reading this board for a while but this is my first post. I've gotten a ton of information though and these boards are an incredible resource.

I've been certified for going on three years now. I finally have all of my necessary equipment and only need to rent tanks at this point. I anticipate being able to dive much more frequently this summer since I don't have the huge rental fees to consider. My dive shop is about 45 minutes away from me and I have a great relationship with them that I want to keep. I have other shops much closer but I do not have any reason beyond distance to use them. However, I cannot see driving that far just to rent two tanks when I want to dive. I had planned to start using one of the nearby shops as needed. My problem is I think it would be rude (or I would feel funny anyway) bringing tanks from another shop on dives arranged through my shop. So, it seems that leaves me with either driving 45 minutes each way or buying my own tanks to remove this issue.

All of that was to get to my questions:
How much upkeep/cost is involved with your own tanks?
Is it worth it to own your own (other than the obvious of being able to dive without having to make prior arrangements to rent)?
How long will tanks generally last if they are given annual maintenance (inspections)?

Thanks for any responses.

 

[Spratman]

Howdy,

Welcome to the board! So, are you in Philly or the burbs? I live up in Kutztown. I've just bought most of my equipment as well, minus tanks. That'll be my final purchase. You'll get plenty of good advice on here. I'm thinking for right now, I'll buy an AL80. Some shops will give you some perks if you buy through them. My will give you a couple of free air fills and such. Asked them. Also, get to know some people and they are usually moving equipment around, upgrading and such. You might try www.wreckvalley.com They are mostly local divers and probably can hook you up.

Dive safe, dive often!

Jack

 

[MikeC]

All of that was to get to my questions:
How much upkeep/cost is involved with your own tanks?
Each year you need to have a visual inspection done, every five years a hydo. I haven't taken my tanks in this year, so I don't know what the rates are. (remember inflation...)

Is it worth it to own your own (other than the obvious of being able to dive without having to make prior arrangements to rent)?
If you dive enough, it justifies the cost. Imagine having a dive planned and the shop tells you that all their tanks are spoken for already.

How long will tanks generally last if they are given annual maintenance (inspections)?
Steel, hmm seen some with original hydro stamps from the mid 60's. AL, I have a couple from the mid 90's. Not sure if the aluminum tanks will last as long as a steel, but if you get 15-20 years you have gotten your money out of them.

Don't feel funny about bringing tanks from another shop. The shop owner must realize that there are other places besides his that you can buy from, event the evil internet. Heck, loyalty goes only so far when gas prices are high. Just my thoughts.

 

[mike_s]

You should prob say what kind of diving you are going to do. And where you are going to do it. That would help people answer this question.

If you are doing typical recreational diving using AL 80's and mostly diving on vacation where you fly to, there is not much sense in owning tanks. If you are going to do diving where you drive and take your tanks with you and still typical recreational, then renting might be a way to go also. Owning them is great and you might dive more if you owned your own tanks, but you still have to make at least 1 trip to the dive shop to get them filled, (unless you own your own compressor, but that's a whole different question)... Rental only requires the 2nd trip to return them since you had to go at least once for the air fill.

Of course if you own them then you don't have to meet the time requirement of picking them up and dropping them off the day of diving (or the day before/after the dive).


What does tank maintenance require?
--------------------------------------
Every year a Visual Inspection, which typically runs about $5 to $15 depnding on the shop. This may or may not include an air fill with the visual since they have to empty the tank to do it.

Every 5 years DOT (Department of Transportation) required you have a hydro pressure test. You can get this done at your dive shop or at a hyrdro test facility, which is where the dive shop typically takes it as most dive shops don't have the equipment to test them themselves. Cost on this depends on the dive shop and where you live. I've heard of it priced from $12 bucks to $50 bucks but typically $20 to $30. Ask them what is included with a hydro also. Some shops include the visual inspection sticker, some include an air fill, etc.


So you have to weigh the cost of the tank, yearly maintenance, etc to see if that's worth your purchase over the cost of renting tanks for a few bucks more. mostly having your own tanks is a nice convenice issue in my opinion. Even though I own my own tanks though, if I go on a long weekend trip to the beach which is a days drive away, I don't always take my tanks because you load several divers, gear, luggage, coolers, etc. it takes up lots of room in the car and requires lugging the tanks around. Where if the Dive Op has the tanks on the boat already, it's nice just to show up and use theres. (once again convenince issues)

Hope this helps.

-mike

 

[Rookie_J]

i was going to buy tanks in a few weeks. i checked a dive shop near my work and according to their website, they rent tanks for $60 a season. at that price i could rent tanks for 4-5 years before it cost as much to buy them..

might be an option?

 

[mike_s]

i was going to buy tanks in a few weeks. i checked a dive shop near my work and according to their website, they rent tanks for $60 a season. at that price i could rent tanks for 4-5 years before it cost as much to buy them..

might be an option?

Interesting....

Does that include the cost of them doing the visual and hydro's as required?
Does it include any air fills? (besides the initial one)

 

[swim2mi]

Hi Lme901:

Welcome to the Scubaboard.

I have been diving for 5 years now and have moved through the progressions of Tanks. I started with 2 AL80's from my LDS, then added a AL30 as a Pony Tank, a Steel LP95 and lastly 2 Steel HP80's for a small set of doubles. I personally like the buoyancy characteristics of Steel but Al's are cheaper. I like owning my tanks because when you want to go diving you can go and not worry about scheduling, picking up and returning rental equipment. Since I dive at the quarries alot, there are air fill stations on site, so I always fill my tanks before going home so they will be ready for the next dive opportunity.

The cost for the upkeep of tanks is an annual Visual Inspection, which is about $9.00 plus $2.00 for a Tank O ring at my LDS. The tank is full when you receive it back. Each cylinder you own also has to be Hydrostatically tested every 5 years and the price varies alot, depending who you have do it. I have had quotes from $30-$50. You should also carry a several O rings for the valves. I am assuming that you are talking compressed air and not Nitrox with dedicated tanks for partial pressure fills. That opens up a whole other discussion.

I would not worry about taking tanks from another dive shop. Sure they want to sell you everything but they also want you to dive with them also. Driving 45 minutes one way to pick up tanks and then do the same to drop them off would be a good reason to buy tanks and get them filled at the closest shop or at the dive site.

 

[lme901]

Thanks everyone for the responses. My local diving will be mostly at Dutch Springs. I'm also hoping to get into some Jersey Wreck Diving this summer too. I'm also considering taking a few more classes this summer (rescue, nitrox and master diver). I am currently NAUI AOW.

Given my distance, the shop owner would probably understand my issue with the tank rentals but I can't help but feel funny anyway. I grew up in a family business and I think that is part of why I feel like I do about it. They've also been very fair to me when I purchased the rest of my equipment. I would not drive there just to get fills though so that part isn't an issue for me. I would use either a shop near me or the quarry fill station. My shop loyalty really only goes so far and it doesn't go to air fills at that distance.

It really does seem to come down to the convenience factor. I guess now I'm really wondering if people think it's worth it to own their own tanks.

Thanks again for the insight, Lisa

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

So far, I haven't been able to justify buying tanks, since it costs about $2 more to rent a full tank than to have a tank filled. At $2 / tank, it would take a long time to pay off the purchase price, let alone the cost of inspections. However, I have not been diving where rental tanks weren't readily available.

 

[lme901]

So far, I haven't been able to justify buying tanks, since it costs about $2 more to rent a full tank than to have a tank filled. At $2 / tank, it would take a long time to pay off the purchase price, let alone the cost of inspections. However, I have not been diving where rental tanks weren't readily available.

That is the part I'm struggling with.....the tanks are not overly expensive (compared to the rest of the equipment) but the rentals definitely have their plus points too (low cost difference and no upkeep).

Lisa